The Scottish Government is updating National Care Standards to ensure they prioritize human rights and involve service users in decision-making, with 92% of respondents supporting this focus. A majority of people also support creating generalized and individualized standards to improve service quality and clarity, although concerns about increasing complexity were raised. Additionally, there is a consensus that the standards need to be easily understandable and widely shared to ensure effective implementation.

1. 1
National Care Standards
Easy Read Summary
The National Care Standards were made to help
people understand what they should expect from
care services.
They also help services understand the standards
that they should deliver.
The Scottish Government want the standards to
be updated and made better. They asked lots of
people about how they could improve the
standards.
This easy read summary will tell you what people
said.

2. 2
The Scottish Government believe that the new
National Care Standards should focus on people’s
human rights.
This means that people who use services would
be very involved in saying how services are
planned and delivered.
92% of people agreed with the Scottish
Government.
They said that it is important that all people are
treated the same.
They also said that this will give people who use
services the chance to be more involved in making
important decisions.
Some people were worried that there might not be
enough money to improve some services. This
means that some people might not get the quality
of service that they are expecting.

3. 3
The Scottish Government asked if they should
make a set of general standards that can be used
in all services.
82% of people who answered this question agreed
that a set of general standards should be made.
Some people said that the general standards would
be very helpful to people:
 Who move from one service to another
 Who are using the system for the first time
 Who are using more than one type of service
 Who are delivering care across more than one
type of service
Some people were worried that general standards
might be less useful. They think that it might be
more difficult to see how well services are working.
The Scottish Government think that the National
Care Standards should reflect people’s needs just
now. They should also think about what will happen
in the future.
75% of people agreed with this.

4. 4
People thought that this would help to improve the
quality of care through all services. It would help
people to want to keep making services better.
Some people said it would make the standards
more complicated.
Most people want the standards to make care
services provide very good care for people using
them now.
Most people did not think that services providing
poor care should say they are working to make
services better in the future.
The Scottish Government asked if sets of individual
standards should be developed for certain areas of
care and need.
79% of people said that they agreed that sets of
individual standards should be developed for
certain areas of care and need.

5. 5
People said that this would be more meaningful
and helpful.
Some people felt that this would be a better way to
see how well services are doing.
Others said that this would make people who
provide services work together more.
Some people felt that there might be too many
standards. The aim was to cut down on the number
of standards.
Others said that it does not focus on the whole
person and their needs.
The Scottish Government asked about how the
standards should be written.
People said that the standards should be simple
and easy to understand.

6. 6
They should also make it clear when a service
provider is not meeting the standards.
Other people said that there should be accessible
versions of the standards.
This includes:
 Easy read
 Large print
 Braille
 Audio
 Other languages
Many people said that the standards should be
written with:
 People who use services
 Carers
 People who provide services

7. 7
The Care Inspectorate and Healthcare
Improvement Scotland make sure that services are
being delivered properly. They have standards
which services must work towards. The way they
check that services are meeting the standards is
being looked at.
The Scottish Government asked if the new
standards should be used as part of this checking
process.
88% of people agreed that they should.
People said that without the checking process the
standards would not work as well.
The Scottish Government asked how they could
make sure that services not regulated by the Care
Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland
should follow the new standards.
People said that all providers of health and social
care should become regulated.

8. 8
Other people said that service providers and
people who use services should be made aware of
the standards. This means people will expect good
standards.
It means that it will be easier to see when services
are not meeting the standards.
The Scottish Government think the Care
Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland
should develop the set of new standards. They
should talk to other relevant people when they are
doing this.
85% of people agreed with this.
People felt that developing the standards in this way
would be meaningful and easy to follow.
Other comments
People need to talk more about the new standards
before they become final.
The Scottish Government need to make sure that
they talk to lots of different people.

9. w w w . g o v . s c o t
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